Could the potato hold the key?

does potato effect our heart

Dear Dr Gupta, You’re right about potatoes! I recall being told in Nursing School at the University of Ottawa (Canada) in the early 1970’s that the potato is the “perfect food”. They supply everything you need to stay alive except protein. The belief then was that if we could convince people in developing countries to change their diets and grow and eat the potato, malnutrition and starvation could be drastically reduced. The only problem was getting people who have relied on rice and other staples for millenia to switch to potatoes. Perhaps with the looming food crisis things will change and now that gene splicing is available we may see “super spuds” with pig proteins available. It is something to think about.

I lived in Peru for a couple of years. Potatoes actually make up a large part of the Peruvians diet, especially in the provenances. Unfortunately most of the time they peel the potatoes and miss out on helpful nutrients.

Life is difficult for most Peruvians because work is scarce. Most are grossly underemployed. With better education they could improve their health and wellbeing by better utilizing resources .

Potatoes are the perfect food, and contrary to an earlier comment, they do contain all of the protein and amino acids to sustain human life. This is a fact. Perhaps this looming food crisis will force our culture to revert back to a healthier and simpler diet that once predominated it. Our health and our bank accounts will surely prosper.